Piano-violin.



' H. SGHLEMMER.

PIANO VIOLIN. APPLICATION FILED BEPT. 30, 1909.

Patented Feb. 28, 191 1.

3 BHEETB-SHEET 1.

M Wag/y H. SGHLEMMER.

PIANO VIOLIN. APPLICATION rum SEPT. 30, 1909.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911'.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.'

- APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1909. 985,459.

H. SGHLEMME'R. PIANO VIOLIN.

. Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

3 SHEETS SHEET 3.-

TIFQ EJ THE sssssssssssssssssssssssssssss cv HENRY SCI-ILEMMER, OF EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS.

PIANO-VIOLIN.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

Application filed September 30, 1909. Serial No. 520,268.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SGHLEMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Efiiugham, in the county of Eftiugham and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Violins, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to means for regu lating playing engagement in stringed instruments, especially to instruments of that class in which vibration of a string is caused by a bow (such as violins, violas, Violoncellos, etc), and has for its object to provide means whereby such instruments are played by mechanical contrivances instead of by hand manipulation of the bow and finger adjustment of the vib 'atory string-length (technically called stoppiug). As in my copending application Serial No. 401,387, filed November 9, 1907, the player controls each instrument by a manual having the black and white key-board, and, by depression of any key, causes the instrument which that key controls to sound the desired tone. In the drawings forming part of this specification, in which like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an instrument having asingle string, showing the normal position of said instrument; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same, showing the instrument moved into playing engagement with the playing means; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the actuating rod and a guide for same; Fig. 4: is a top plan view of an instrument, showing an alternate form of the means for holding same out of playing engagement with the playing means; Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the alternate form of spring for holding the instrument out of playing engagement with the playing means; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the bearings for the instrument; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the means for actuating an instrument having two strings; Fig. 8 is a plan view of same; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a spring for holding the instrument out of playing engagement with the playing means; and Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the actuating rods and guide for same.

The rod 1 is secured. to the top of the body 2 of the instrument and is adapted to seat iu t.he depression 3 in the casting a which 15 fastened to the frame 5 by the screws 6 or other suitable means. Cast ing '7, also, is fastened to the frame 5 by the sum s 8 and is provided with the screwthreaded aperture 9 which is adapted to receive the bolt 10, said bolt being held in place by the lock-nut 11. The depression 12 in the head of said bolt 10 forms a bearing for rod 13 which is secured to the bottom of body 2. String 14 which is secured at one end to the tail-piece 15 passes over bridge 16 and is fastened at the other end (not shown in the drawings) in the usual manner to the top of neck 17. Spring 18 is fastened at one end to the frame 5 by the screw 19 and at the other end to the neck 17 by the screw 20, or other suitable means. and normally holds the instrument out of playing engagement with the bow-wheel 21. Rod 22, which is adapted to actuate said instrument and cause string 14 to engage bow-wheel 21 is slidably mounted in the guide 23 and is operated by the depression of a key on the key-board (not shown in the drawings). In Figs. t and 5 the alternate form of spring 2st is substituted for the spring 18 and is secured to the frame 5 by the screws 25.

In the preferred form as hereinabove de scribed the instrument is strung with a single string, but when desirable the instrument can be strung with two strings as shown in Fig. 8, said strings being tuned to different tones. In this form the two bow-wheels 2-6 and 27 are provided and the instrument is held out of playing engagement with said bow-wheels by the spring 28 and spring 29, each of said springs being fastened to neck 17 by the screws 30. The rods 22 are slidably mounted in the guide 31 and each of said rods is adapted to rotate the instrument into playing engagementwith one of said bow-wheels.

The regulation of the playing engagement of the instrument is as follows: The depression of a key on the key-board operates the rod 22 which is moved thereby against the body of the instrument and causes said instrument to rotate in the bearing 3 and the bearing 12,whereby string 14: is brought into playing engagement with the bow-wheel ll, said bow-wheel being contii'iually rotated by any suitable means. As long as said key is depressed string l-jt held in engagement with bow-wheels 21 and. a tone is produced thereby, but when pressure on said key is released the instrument is returned to its normal posit-ion by the spring 18, whereby said string is moved from engagen'ient with said bow-wheel. When an instrumenthaving two strings is played two keys on the key-board govern the playing of said instrument. The depression of one of said keys causes one of the rods 22 to rotate the instrument and to move one of said strings 1+t. into playing en gageinent with the bow-wheel 26 adjacent thereto, and when pressure released on said key spring -2S returns the instrument to its normal position. In the same way, the. key which operates the other rod 22 causes same to rotate the instrument in the opposite direction, whereby the other string it is brought into playing engage ment with bow-wheel 27, but when said key is released the. instrument is moved to its normal position by the spring Zt).

For the purpose of illustration the instrumentdepicted in the drawings is of the class in which the note to be vplayed is produced by rotating the iiistrun'ient having a string tuned to produce such note to a point where said string engages a rotating wheel which serves the purpose of a bow, but itshould be understood that not. only are violins. violas, cellos. and double basses of the said class within the scope of this invention and of the claims, but banjos, mandolins, guitars, and the like are as well; for, to play these last-named instruments, in which the vib '1 tion of the string is caused by picking or plucking, instead of by bowing. the mechanism remains unchanged save for the fact that the wheel 21 is equipped with projecting fingers or pins instead of horse-hair or the like.

I claim:

1. In a piano violin, the combination of a stringed instrument having an elongated body and bearing the string longitudinally thereof, a support having upper and lower arms extending therefrom, said instrument being pivotally mounted between said arms upon a longitudinal axis eccentric to said string to permit a limited rotary movement of said string around the pivot points of said ii'istrument, a rotarybowing device,

means for resiliently maintaining said instrumentin fixed position, and means for rotating said instrument to move said string against said bowing device.

2. In a piano violin, the combination of an instrument body havinga string stretched thereover, a support having arms extended therefrom, said instrument body being pivoted between said arms and having the pivotal axis in a plane common to said string to pern'iit a limited rotary movement of said string about the axis of rotation of said body, means to cause said body to operate on said axis of rotation, and rotary bowing means located in the path of said string.

. 3. In a piano violin, the combination of an instrument body having a string stretched thereover, a. supporthaving arms extended therefrom, said instrument body being pivoted between said arms to permit a limited rotary movement of said string about the axis of rotation of said body, said axis of rotation extending longitudinally along said body and substantially parallel to said string, means cmnprising a slidabl y mounted rod bearing eceentrically upon said instrument to cause the latter to rotate, rotary bowing means adapted to bear on said string when said body is rotated, and means opposing said rotating means to return said body to its normal POSltiOD. I

4. In a piano violin, the combination of an instrument body li2l\"i11g astring stretched thereover, a support having upper and lower arms projected therefrom, bearing rods extending from said instrument body in a. plane common to said string and support ing said body between said arms, means comprising a slidably mounted rod bearing on said body at one side of the axis of said bearing rods. and adapted to impart a 1'0- tary movement to said body, and means for returning said body to normal position.

5. The combination of an instrument hearing a pair of strings, said strings being tuned to different pitches, a pair of rotating wheels to play said instrument, a support, said instrument being revolubly mounted in said support, a pair of rods, one of said rods being mounted to rotate said instrument and cause one of said strings to engage one of said wheels, the other said rod being mounted to rotate said instrument and cause the other said string to engage the other said wheel, a pair of springs to hold said strings normally out of engagement with said wheels, guides for said rods, and means for operating said rods.

(5. The combination of an instrument hear ing a string, a support, a rod secured to the top of the body of said instrument, a casting secured to said support, said casting being provided with a depression in which said rod bears, a rod secured to the bottom o the body of said instrument, a casting said support, a bolt borne by sa-i' tioned casting, the hea 0 SL5 provided with a depression'iu Wllie.- last-mentioned rod bears, a lock-nut borne by said bolt, means for playing said instrument, means for rotating said string into engagement with said playing means, and

In testimony whereof I have affixed my -nature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY SCHLEMMER.

Witnesses CHAS. FENERBORN, A. J. VVORMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

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